“There I was completely wasting, out of work and down/ all inside it’s so frustrating as I drift from town to town/ feel as though nobody cares if I live or die/ so I might as well begin to put some action in my life/ Breaking the law, breaking the law/ Breaking the law, breaking the law/ So much for the golden future, I can’t even start/ I’ve had every promise broken, there’s anger in my heart/ you don’t know what it’s like, you don’t have a clue/ if you did you’d find yourselves doing the same thing too…”—“Breaking the Law” by Judas Priest, from the album British Steel.Although this is an interesting, highly metal take on life, why not consider the peacefully musical alternatives. Rocking out beats throwing rocks anytime, in my opinion.
Show Up!: Thursday
Chrch
Susan Yee
Sacramento, Calif. doomsters Chrch (they hadda knock the vowel outta their name last year because big labels still have big influence, not to mention legal recourse) play Launchpad (618 Central SW) on Thursday, June 2. Prophets of the end times as well as gearheads who rock Sovtec Mig heads, Orange Rockerverbs and plenty of Marshall and Peavey 4x12s, Chrch features a female vocalist named Eva who can call up spirits from the vasty deep with a stunning precision that beats the hell out of most of her male metal counterparts. It’s all evident on their latest release Unanswered Hymms, a three tune recording that begins with the ironically titled, epically dark dirge “Dawning.” Chrch is touring with the sludgy and oppressively animalistic Canuck trio Dopethrone and Phoenix, Ariz. stoner group Goya. Local louche legends Roñoso, Jagged Mouth open; Endorphins Lost from the great Northwest are also on the bill. This 21+ headbangers ball begins at 9pm and costs only 10 bones.
Show Up!: Friday Part I
Electronic experimentalist and heady hip-hop instrumentalist Jennifer Lee, better known as TOKiMONSTA, makes an appearance at Sister (407 Central NW) on Friday, June 3. An astral entity whose work with Project Blowed and Flying Lotus landed her squarely within the realm of El Lay’s underground hip-hop movement, Lee also happens to be a classically trained pianist. She is well known for deconstructing the work of luminaries like Justin Timberlake and Yacht through remixes that absolutely come apart in your head as the beat drops —sometimes delicately, sometimes with awesomely erratic revisioning, but always with a focus that speaks volumes about her musical prowess and infinitely wonky tendency to digress upon subtle rhythms and beatific bits of melody. TOKiMONSTA represents the diverse, unbound future of a genre previously troubled by misogyny and gangsta aesthetics. $15 is all it will cost the average 21+ listener to engage in the elusive what-comes-next nature of West-Coast grooviness. TOKiMONSTA takes the stage at Sister around 9pm.
Show Up!: Friday Part Ii
Radio Moscow
Courtesy of the artist
Bluesy psychedelic rockers Radio Moscow, an outfit straight outta Iowa (cause that’s where all the good music comes from) bring their sparkly schtick to The Co-Op (415 Central NW) on Friday, June 3. Although some critics have pegged Radio Moscow as throwbacks to a particular flavor of ‘70s sonic shenanigans led by fecund forbearers like Ram Jam, the band transcends the genre smokily, channeling a sound that encompasses all things stoner but with a self-conscious nod to the electric blues that twists and turns like a distorted tornado (they have those in Iowa, right?) when cranked up to full speed and high volume. For this particular performance, the folks from the Hawkeye State will be supported by multi-melodic, psych benders Sacri Monte, a quintet from San Diego with rock heavy hearts and Krautrock souls. 505 desert prog-rockers RAWRR and the highly influential, stoned-out, eyes-to-the-skies SuperGiant (also from Burque) begin the evening’s ascent. This all ages show starts at 6pm and listeners can take in the entire bill for only 12 clams.
Show Up!: Saturday
The Shady Thug Tour happens by Blu Phoenix Venue (3315 Princeton NE) on the evening of Saturday, June 4. This event features two very, very interesting rappers, KXNG Crooked and Big Sloan. In case you want to know, KXNG Crooked is that dude who released the recording Mr. Pigface Weapon Waist while working as a member of the hip-hop super group Slaughter. It’s hardcore stuff, laced with winsome references to street violence and dysfunctional domestic relationships. Of course that doesn’t mean the dude is incapable of reaching for higher ground; his latest single “Fearless” takes on a for realz thug named Donald Trump. Big Sloan, of Mo Thugs fame shares the bill. Sloan Bone (as he is also known) has been working tirelessly to coalesce Long Beach, Califas and Midwest rap particulars into a bass-heavy, cruising-the-highway looking for trouble type of rap that appeals to ennui-filled kids of all ages. His new, yet untitled single features Crooked and Eminem, but I don’t think the slim shady one will be at the Burque show. None the less, here’s a primo opportunity to check out the latest in ultra-naughty, mainstream rap. SFK, Suede School and Exclucive provide local support. Tickets for this all ages vision of street smarts and holy urban degradation range from $25-40. The $40 ticket includes a VIP meet and greet; the sound goes down beginning at 7pm.
Show Up!: Tuesday
Speedy Ortiz
Courtesy of the artist
Speedy Ortiz, originally the solo project of poet, multi-instrumentalist and totally awesome guitarist Sadie Dupuis, jam the fuck out at Launchpad (618 Central SW) on Tuesday, June 7. Speedy Ortiz morphed into a full band in 2011 with the release of the highlarious and hellaciously hot single “Taylor Swift;” the album that followed, Major Arcana, as well as the work that came after, Foil Deer, have been rightly classified as some of the most important sounds generated by an American indie outfit; certainly on tracks like “The Graduates” and “Raising the Skate” the band amply demonstrates mastery of a sub-genre populated by the likes of voices like the Breeders and to some extent, Sonic Youth; it’s breathy, fret-conscious guitar rock combined with sometimes cruelly prescient words and flourishing musical lyricism that are stunning. Indie folk rockers The Good Life—featuring Tim Kasher of Cursive—and Tancred, the solo effort of Now guitarist Jess Abbott, provide a further introduction about everything that is right, right now, about American indie rock. This all-ages (13+) rocanrol explosion requires a $10 admission price; it begins at 8pm.
